Prospero Hibiki's Lost Fragments
by Prospero Hibiki
Summary: Here they are. Fragments and starting places for some interesting Ranma 1/2 ideas I've had over the years. We've got everything from murder to romance to comedy to Discordianism! That last one might actually get updated someday.
1. Time Together, Time Apart

Time Together, Time Apart

-Prospero Hibiki Bwee!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters (sigh unfortunately) except for a few minor characters along with a villain who hasn't made an appearance yet. They are owned by the almighty Takahashi Rumiko (among other people and organizations specifically Viz, etc. etc.) I write fanfic because I like the shows and would never dream of violating the copyright of these characters. May I be struck by lightning if I ever make a monetary profit from writing this. (I count the pride and comments I receive as profit, but then I believe everyone is entitled to that.)

BTW This is going to be a crossover/fusion with another series, which shall remain nameless for a few more pages, and I don't own those characters either. I just can't think of who does at the moment.

- - -

Once again Ranma had done it. Like he had every Saturday that Akane hadn't been kidnapped, Ranma Saotome had snuck off immediately after school had ended. It had become such a part of the daily routine ever since it started happening during his junior year that now most people didn't even bother to watch him go. Of course that was only most of the people. His many fiancés were all disappointed at his persistent refusal to make the right choice and marry them. The irony of the fact that all seven of the girls that now went to Furinkan High School were thinking this simultaneously was lost on all of them. Nabiki Tendo was also fairly put out by this event because she had forced ten of her lackeys to skip the last class of the day in order to prevent just this from occurring.

Ranma spent this time doing something so far from his normal activities that no one ever expected it. He was riding the train to the neighboring ward instead of running, jumping, or flying. To date he had resisted all attempts to find out where he went; from threats of violence, blackmail, and even the uber-cute, sad, puppy-dog look. And no one in Nerima was happy about it. (With the possible exception of Mousse, who saw it as the perfect opportunity to seduce the planter he thought was Shampoo. Afterwards, the planter was not impressed.)

Of course everyone in Nerima who knew Ranma, and many fiancés who had yet to meet him, would have been even more upset if they knew that every Saturday Ranma took that train in order to see another woman. Not that they were doing anything more than having lunch, but trying to tell that to an enraged fiancé would have been more akin to suicide than Ranma ever wished to get.

- - -

**Time Together, Time Apart**

A Ranma 1/2 and ?? Crossover

Written by

**Prospero Hibiki**

and

Brought to you by

**Frozen Hell Productions**

"They laughed when we bought the practical joke store. We'll see who's laughing now."

- - -

The green haired lady tapped her foot impatiently; knowing all too well that it wouldn't speed up his arrival. She sighed wondering for the hundredth time why she always arrived fifteen minutes early when she knew that he wouldn't arrive until the appointed time at the earliest. Looking at an antique pocket watch she smiled and raised her hand. The waiter nodded having become accustomed to the pattern of events by now. Two large mugs of hot chocolate and a large kettle of water soon found their way onto the booth's table. Very few people in the café noticed and fewer even cared, the number being fairly small to begin with because of the booth's location at in the shadowed corner.

It was the same every week and probably would be. Very few things would ever change the pattern, and even the changes had taken a sort of pattern of their own. Either he would call the café telling her that _she_ had been kidnapped once again, or she would call the café telling him that 'urgent business' had come up. He'd stopped asking what her business was when he noticed that demons always showed up in the paper the following Sunday.

Setsuna Meio sighed once again and, once again, resisted the temptation to look into the future to see if he showed up or if it would again be the phone call. She'd decided long ago that she would never look into Ranma's future, instead preferring to live at least this one part of her life as a normal human being. It was actually kind of fun trying to figure out solutions to the problems of his love life, just as it was nice having someone to talk to about trivial things. Not that she would ever let any of her fellow Senshi know that she liked gossip as much as the rest of them. It just didn't fit her all too mysterious image.

She'd started to look over at the counter expecting Hiro to come over and tell her Ranma wouldn't be coming when the door swung open and a rather damp Ranma-chan walked in. Needless to say she was swearing enough to make several of the customers she passed faint. That these customers were American sailors from Yokosuka Naval Base raised Setsuna's eyebrows even more. Ranma was in rare form today it seemed.

"Hiya Setsuna." Ranma slid into her customary seat across the booth. "Can you hand me the kettle. Thanks." Ranma poured some of the hot water over her, now his, head and dumped the rest into a large thermos he pulled out of his backpack.

"Ranma should you have come with the thermos filled? That was the entire reason for me getting it for you in the first place." Setsuna pushed one of the mugs closer to the pig-tailed boy.

Ranma scowled. "I did. It's not my fault that I got splashed five times coming from Nerima. Five times! I even got splashed on the stupid train if you'd believe it."

She laughed imagining a rather frustrated Ranma-chan throw a businessman out of a train. "Oh I believe it. So what's happened lately?" She took a sip of her chocolate.

He started to tick things off his fingers. "Let's see. Glomped, poisoned, malleted, force fed, drugged, malleted again, extorted, insulted…"

Setsuna gaped at the amount of things that had happened to him. "Wow, looks like this week has been even busier than normal." It was strange that someone outside of the Silver Millenium could have so much chaos in his life. If she hadn't followed him to see his life first hand that one time she would have thought he was lying to her.

Ranma only stared at her in a way that made her wonder if she had something on her face. "Week?! That's just what happened today!"

Setsuna sweat dropped. She'd realized from their talks that things were getting worse for him, but never had she imagined that things would be coming so close to critical. "So have you made a decision yet?" She'd told him that his problems came from his inability to come to a decision that might possibly hurt someone.

"No, and I'm not going to yet."

"Ranma. You know that's not a good way of going about things. From what you've just said thing are already past a point where even the police could take a hand. Waiting longer is just going to make things worse." She was a little disappointed in him really. He knew all the reasons that his situation was impossible, and yet he still insisted on toughing it out in the hopes that some good might come of the current situation. And while it was possible, if extremely unlikely, Setsuna remained positive that he at least needed to do something about the situation no matter what it was.

Ranma looked away and when he looked back he immediately picked up his mug and took several small sips as if it was too hot, a sure sign that he was stalling for time since Setsuna's chocolate was just the right temperature.

Omake

Sighing Ranma could only nod. "Yeah, I have. I don't like it, but I figured out that the only way out of it would be to end everything."

"You're going to WHAT?!"

He looked up at Setsuna's now completely enraged face and wondered why she looked like she was going to kill him. Mentally running over his verbal transcripts he realized the possible meanings of what he had said. "Oops. Let me rephrase that. What I meant to say is that I need to end all of the engagements. Yeah that's it." He relaxed when he realized that he wouldn't become a smear on the booth's upholstery. For the moment at least though no one really knew what the future would bring.

He completely failed to see the irony present in that thought.

"Oh." Setsuna blushed and glared at all of the customers now staring at her. "Mind your own business!" She sank down in her seat as much as she could.

Ranma couldn't help it and started to laugh. His normally unflappable friend was blushing like it was going out of style. He only stopped when she reached over the table and smacked him upside the head.

"Cut it out already."

Ranma smiled as he walked through downtown Juuban. It had taken him a long time, but he'd finally found something that would be perfect for Setsuna. He tapped the box resting in his front pocket checking to make sure it was still there. Yes, Ranma thought, things were really starting to look up for him. Juuban didn't receive nearly as much rain as Nerima, he was able to be with the woman he loved on a regular basis, and best of all, not counting his sparring matches with his new friends, nothing remotely martial had happened since he had last seen Cologne.

A soft flickering of thunder could be heard in the distance. Concerned Ranma looked around, growing even more confused when he didn't see any clouds in the sky.

He shook his head. "Just my imagination. Still, I gotta learn not to think things like that." Shrugging it off as an aberration, Ranma picked up his pace slightly so he could get home quicker. He grinned at the thought that it was his home now. His and Setsuna's. Their home. He liked that.

Two minutes later he stood in front of the florist and contemplated buying some flowers. It was appropriate. Needless to say he was fairly surprised when someone came crashing through the building behind him and smashing into the florist's plate glass window. Surprise turned to shock when he realized that he knew the person.

Several Minutes Earlier:

To say that the battle was going poorly for them would be giving them the benefit of the doubt. They weren't fairing well at all against the monster. Clearly the thing knew something about how the Senshi operated because it had started its rampage by taking out Sailor Saturn who was quickly followed by Neptune and Uranus. And that was when things started to get ugly.

Sailor Jupiter was in fine form having come up with a way to create chain lightning by having Venus shoot off links for the electricity to bounce off of. It was really quite spectacular, and Pluto shook her head in wonder at the ideas that the combination had sparked in her mind. It was too bad really that it was looking like they wouldn't survive. Not for the first time did Pluto curse the order her future self had given her about looking into the future for the next few months. She knew that the fact that she had had a future self didn't necessarily mean that she still would in another five minutes. Paradoxes still gave her headaches.

All of the other Senshi were hurt now, only the Inners even standing. Tuxedo Kamen had taken so many hits for Sailor Moon that he was now unconscious. And worst yet, the thing seemed to be getting stronger from seeing their despair. It had already taken a Dead Scream without even batting an eye. No, things were not good.

For Pluto to say that time slowed for an instant would probably be misconstrued by some people who would think that she was referring to that horrible realization that something even more horrible was about to happen without her being able to stop it. And they would be partially correct. She saw the brief pulse of energy fly towards the place where Sailor Moon was going to land and knew that no one would be able to make it there in time to save her just as she knew that Moon wouldn't survive that particular blast. And with that realization came the knowledge that that wasn't true, that some one could get there in time. Her. She could make it if she bent every rule she had ever set for herself. And when the choice came down to it between the life of her future queen and her rules she found that she didn't care one wit about her damn rules.

Thus when Pluto thought time slowed for her she was right and so she shoved Moon out of the way and when time sped up once again she found herself smashing though both sides of a building and coming out the next street over before landing inside a flower shop.

Fury. Total and utter fury. No other words came anywhere close enough to describe how Ranma felt as he cradled Setsuna's unconscious form in his arms. Being careful not to injure her he carried the woman he loved across the street and through the remains of the building she had gone through. Through! Ranma buried his hate, his rage, his fury knowing that they would make him sloppy. The Soul of Ice technique that Cologne had taught him took over and his rage turned into something much more calculating.

Upon reaching the street he spoke in a voice that cut through the battlefield like volcanic glass. "Who did this? Who hurt her? Who!" At the last he shouted out to the people in front of him, his control making frost form in a circle around him.

He didn't need to see the people pointing to guess what had hurt her. It was half again his height at eight feet, and seemed to be made of a cross between a bug and a candidate for Mr. Universe. Nodding almost absently he carefully set Setsuna down, leaning her up against one of the remaining walls. Turning once again to the yellowish black creature he rolled up the long sleeves of his green Chinese shirt and sprung forward with a kick.

It seemed that the thing wasn't prepared for the speed he could move at first because it just stood there taking over one hundred blows that would have surely killed any human opponent. Ranma had pulled out all the stops for this battle, not having felt so angry since his battle with Saffron. Punches followed kicks followed elbows followed knees. After hitting it a dozen times or more Ranma would hop back to bounce off of something to jump back into the fray. And then the thing started to react to him.

It wasn't much at first, just a few swipes of the claw like things that he assumed were the equivalent of the thing's arms. Then it started to pick up speed right along side him and then go faster. Soon it was all Ranma could do to avoid blows that even Ryoga would have felt.

Ranma sighed for what must have been hundredth time that evening, the gesture once again accompanied with pulling his collar away from his neck. He frowned when he heard Setsuna chuckle next to him. She had been the one to convince him that wearing the tuxedo was appropriate for meeting the queen of the solar system and he had been forced to agree after several hours of arguing. Of course she had only won after practically seducing him. He still thought that that hadn't been fair.

He still didn't see the need for him to be here. It seemed stupid for her not to be able to marry him unless he was a nobleman. He didn't want to be a nobleman. Kuno was a nobleman and Ranma wanted nothing to do with that lifestyle. Of course the revelation that Setsuna herself was nobility was an indication that all nobles weren't like Kuno, but he was still wary.

He stopped his internal debate because it wasn't doing him any good. He had agreed to take this trip into the past so he could marry Setsuna and he was going to do it if it killed him. Reaching over to where she was sitting beside him he grasped onto her hand and smiled at her. Yes, he thought, I'll put up with quite a bit to be with her forever.

The rest of the time in the small parlor passed quickly with the two of them holding hands while they waited to be announced. Of course they wouldn't be called by their real names, or at least Setsuna wouldn't be, because that would defiantly lead to some awkward questions that they both couldn't and shouldn't answer. It would probably destroy the timestream completely if people knew what was going to happen several thousand years in the future. As it was the entire situation seemed slightly ridiculous to the young man who had become the embodiment of Charon. Here they were, Setsuna going by the name of Reimyo Meio, several thousand years in the past waiting to get approval of a queen of a kingdom that no longer existed is his time. All the time travel was giving him a headache.

"There, there Ranma. It'll all be over soon." Setsuna smirked slightly because she could anticipate his next comment.

"Soon by what definition? In some ways what we're doing has already happened we just don't know how it turned out, and once it does there's no changing it without creating a paradox, so what's there to relax about?"


	2. Quid Olim Erat Et Est Iterum

The cold shadows of my memory envelop me leaving not a single part of my mind untouched by the horros I faced in my younge

Quid Olim Erat Et Est Iterum

-Prospero Hibiki Bwee!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters (sigh unfortunately) except for a few minor characters along with a villain who hasn't made an appearance yet. They are owned by the almighty Takahashi Rumiko (among other people and organizations specifically Viz, etc. etc.) I write fanfic because I like the shows and would never dream of violating the copyright of these characters. May I be struck by lightning if I ever make a monetary profit from writing this. (I count the pride and comments I receive as profit, but then I believe everyone is entitled to that.)

BTW This is going to be a crossover/fusion with another series, which shall remain nameless for a few more pages, and I don't own those characters either. I just can't think of who does at the moment.

o.o

Twenty Years Ago

The cold shadows of my memory envelop me leaving not a single part of my mind untouched by the horrors I faced in my younger years. Things I'd thought long banished to the dark recesses of oblivion are shown in bright vivid color. Scene after scene flashes before my eyes, as if centuries hadn't passed since these events occurred. Worst of all are the faces of all the people I've killed cycling past in a seemingly endless flow though almost four thousand years of tortured history. For a brief moment I want nothing more than to end it all and put this never ending hell behind me in the sweet sleep that is death.

It is now that an arm tightens around my chest and my companion nuzzles my side with her head trying to get comfortable once more from my restless turnings. Perhaps she senses something is wrong for she wakes up and I don't need the light that comes though the drawn curtain of her bedroom, our bedroom, to see her long green hair trailing down from her head framing her face in disarray. Privately I've always thought she is devastatingly sexy when she is slightly disheveled and it seems now is not an exception. She's the one overriding bright spot in my memories and though we've refused to make any commitments I doubt that she's dated anyone else since we finally gave in to our feelings over two thousand years ago. Just as I haven't.

"It's nothing, love. Just memories." I reach up and run the back of my hand along her cheek. She nods, as I knew she would, and settles back down on my chest. We're both pretty tired from our earlier activities and so she's soon fast asleep once more. Still her presence is enough to pull me out of my melancholy.

"No, I won't lose that way," I murmur. "No, not that way. No one will ever say Ranma ever just gave up." Moving down I lightly kiss the top of Setsuna's head before closing my eyes and letting a more peaceful sleep overtake me once more.

o.o

The Present

I'm back in Japan once more after nearly two decades away. Not that long really compared to the centuries I've been gone before. But it's different than before or seems that way because of her absence. Not that Setsuna was missing during this time, rather I was. Missing that is. I suppose I should explain. Though I'm just barely younger than Setsuna, she's a year older but you didn't hear it from me, I was really born just seventeen years ago if you look at things chronologically. Confusing I know, but true all the same. And while she needed to be in Japan during that time period, I couldn't be anywhere near the Far East lest I run into myself causing a paradox that still gives me a headache when I just think about the possible consequences.

So how am I here now? Well about one month ago my seventeen year old self would have stumbled upon the buried ruins of an ancient culture that died off long ago. Then through extraordinary circumstances involving not one but three power lines, a tanker truck filled with goat's milk, one small but powerful explosive, and a much larger bag of filled with feminine undergarments I ended up four thousand years in the past. And I didn't believe anyone when they said goat's milk was strong. Strange, but then these things just seem to happen around me. What all of that really means is that I am now the only Ranma that could conceivably be wandering around Tokyo. Hopefully, but then again stranger things have happened. That of course is the main reason I'm not going anywhere near Nerima.

Which is why the prospect of meeting my girlfriend at the Tokyo Imperia Hotel's penthouse has me rather pleased with myself. It's rather frustrating really to be forced to spend so much time apart from someone who has through time become one of the two true constants in my life. And, if I speak frankly, the Art just can't cut it sometimes. I mean just how much better could I get in twenty years even if I did funnel my sexual frustration into my workouts? So I'm justifiably happy with the way my day's been going so far. And if things work out like I expect they will that'll only continue. That of course is the main reason for the hotel room as opposed to Setsuna's house. No nosy housemates asking all sorts of questions that would delay our reunion. Yep, Ranma's going to get lucky tonight.

o.o

By now Ranma will have gotten to the airport, exactly two minutes ago if the planes have been on schedule, but then who's counting? To say that I'm excited would be vastly understating the case. I've been practically giddy all day. The past week has been a whirlwind of activity all aimed at preparing myself for tonight. The Outers, a cold way of describing them but still much easier than saying Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru every time I want to refer to the girls that I live with, have been staring at me like I've grown a second head but frankly I just don't give a damn. I pause for a second in my preparations and make a note to burn my copy of Gone With The Wind. For the first time in about twenty years I don't have to completely cut off my emotions to prevent them from overwhelming me. I literally don't think I would have made it without Ranma's soul of ice technique.

Everything else in place I start my makeup. And finish being as I only have to put on lipstick. Making sure I have everything I'll need I leave the room praying that I won't run into my housemates. I really don't think I can handle any delays right now. At least not politely.

Which is why I'm not particularly surprised when Hotaru stops me as I'm approaching the front door. I'm extremely frustrated but not surprised. After just brief contemplation just knocking her out and running for it is discarded as a viable plan. I reserve it in case things get worse.

"Where are going Setsuna-mama?" Oh sweet goddess! Not the cute attack, anything but that. Now I'll never get out of here on time without knocking her unconscious, and right now that seems just as fair as clubbing a baby seal. Just as cruel as well. Which doesn't mean I won't do it if I get truly desperate. I'll just feel really bad afterwards.

"I'm going out to meet an old friend Hotaru-chan. One I haven't seen in about twenty years." This apparently satisfies Hotaru and I take another step towards the door, when another voice sounds from behind me.

"An old friend, Setsuna?" I pivot on one foot and almost scream to see both of my remaining boarders standing in the hallway. Haruka continues. "Does this old friend have a name?"

I decide to take the imperious route and nod slowly and regally. I once got Alexander the Great to back down when so nodding. Haruka is apparently made of sterner stuff because she doesn't seem affected. Then again Ranma had just kicked the stuffing out of Alexander's guard, so maybe that's what was missing.

Michiru is the one that speaks this time. "Are you going to tell us this name?" Okay I'm about ready to club some baby seals now. This is taking too long for my present state of mind. As to the answer to her question...

Hell no! But I can't exactly say that out loud because that would be so out of character for me that it isn't even funny. Or at least out of character for me as far as they're concerned. It's perfectly in character if you consider that I haven't gotten laid in twenty years and my significant other is on his way to the penthouse he booked for our week of nonstop sex to fix that problem. And something is leading me to believe I just said at least some of that out loud. The something, of course, being the way that Haruka and Michiru's eyes are completely bugged out of their heads and Hotaru is blushing enough to actually turn the color of an electric stove range. Can I still salvage this? Probably not. Will I try anyway? Feh. Sex beats explaining the birds and the bees to my flatmates any day.

"Honestly, I have no idea what I just told you. But whatever it is that you think you heard is probably not only correct but in fact understating the case. So don't wait up for me. Actually, if someone stops by and wants to destroy the universe take care of it yourselves."


	3. In the Bar

In The Bar

In The Bar

He'd hadn't left the bar property in a long time, but then again he didn't need to. Modern technology was good that way, allowing him to never have to leave his safe haven. The bartender polished his bar in the quiet of the early morning hours. The last person had left several hours earlier and he was about finished with his cleanup. It hadn't been that bad, but then it rarely was. Most of the rowdier patrons had stopped coming in when they had seen how he reacted to fights in his bar. It might have also been the look of anger on his face that was accentuated by the long, thin scar that ran from his right temple to his chin. The Stopover was quickly becoming a very popular bar because he had made it known for the peaceful atmosphere and fun time.

With a sigh he finished the inventory absently scratching at the scar that covered most of his left hand. He needed to buy some more orange juice since the Screwdriver had made another surge in popularity. He went to the back room and ordered some on the computer. He also used his computer to look up a new drink to offer as tomorrow's special. It took a while to find one that he could make from what was on hand and so he decided on the Firefly.

Two ounces of vodka, four ounces of grapefruit juice, and one teaspoon of grenadine. Pour the vodka and grapefruit juice into a highball glass almost filled with ice cubes. Drop the grenadine into the center of the drink. Not that hard. And he still had all that grapefruit juice from the failed Salty Dog special. He went to his bar and made one. It was pretty good, he thought. But then he'd liked the Salty Dog too. The real test would be with the customers.

He went to the back room to check the day's mail only to remember that he hadn't picked it up. Shrugging he walked to the front door and opened it. He'd walked a few steps towards his mail slot before he noticed the person huddled against the wall. One of the few things that he really didn't like about the city was that some people had nowhere to go, but he'd discovered after just a short while that he couldn't help everyone.

He was about to wake the person up when he realized that they weren't breathing properly. Leaning closer he noticed a faint smell of blood hovering over the person. Immediately he picked them up and carried them inside, the mail forgotten.

It was the work of seconds to clear off a table, and he didn't really care about the crash as things were sent crashing to the floor. Resting the person on the now bare table he got his first aid kit from the back room.

He made his second major discovery of the night when he discovered that it wasn't a man that he was helping but a woman. The discovery pricked an old memory in his brain, but he pushed it back while he searched for the wound. It wasn't very hard to spot being located in the woman's shoulder. It seemed that she had been trying to dodge when the object cut her. He poured some hydrogen peroxide into the wound and winced in sympathy at the gasp of pain she let out before she passed out once again. It was a rather hasty job, but soon he had everything wrapped up and bandaged.

Picking her up in his arms he carried her up the stairs in the back to his room and set her on his bed before going back down to clean up the mess. No matter what happened during the night he still needed to be open in the morning. He did after all offer a small breakfast menu for a few regular customers, and they wouldn't appreciate blood on the furniture.

He finished cleaning everything up and got the things ready for the morning before heading up to catch an hour's rest. Not wanting to disturb his patient he curled up in his large chair and fell asleep.

o.o

He woke up to a sense of being watched. Immediately he jumped out of his chair and into a defensive stance on the other side of the room, before he was able to check himself. Looking over he saw that his guest wasn't able to see his new position. For all she knew he had only moved out of her line of sight rather quickly.

"I'm sorry about that. I sort of forgot where I was for a moment." He'd long ago gotten over the impulse to put his arm behind his head when he was embarrassed, yet he found himself wanting to do just that. Instead he walked back around the side of the bed so he could look at the woman sleeping in it.

The first thing he noticed was that she was Japanese like him. It was unusual enough that it distracted him for a few seconds. Other things were noticed less quickly. Like her long brown hair, her brown eyes, and the familiar set of her facial features. He shook his head trying to deny who it couldn't be. Who it couldn't help but be.

She also spoke in English though it was more heavily accented than his. "That's okay. I'd been hoping to get a better look at you though before you woke up though. My name is Ukyo Kuonji. I'd like to thank you for helping me out."

"No, no, no, nononononono!" He turned away and put his hands over his ears, the scar tissue of his left hand still feeling strange when it touched his skin. It must have seemed strange to Ukyo for he could hear her try to get out of bed. He turned back just as abruptly. "Sorry, again. You just remind me of someone I once knew. You need to stay in bed for a while longer. Don't worry about thanking me. You can stay here as long as you need to. I own this bar so if you need anything just ask." And with that he moved towards the door so he could get away to the kitchen.

Ukyo surprised him by asking a question before he could escape. "Was it painful a painful memory for you?"

Without turning around he ran his hand down the length of his facial scar. "All of my memories are painful. But it's not your fault. It never was." With that he left closing the door behind him

He made his way to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn't understand how she hadn't recognized him. But it took him a while to realize that he looked very little like the young man he had once been. His brown hair was pulled back into a short ponytail that came to just beyond his shoulders and was tied with a piece of rawhide. The white lock he'd gotten in his hair was still located right over the scar as it had been since he'd gotten it. The scar itself was the thing that changed his face the most. As thin as it was, it's very length pulled a person's eyes away from the rest of his face. Even he fell victim to that on occasion. Perhaps the only thing about his face that was the same was his mouth, which still contained the fangs, which he had once been famous for. He didn't show them as much anymore though so they weren't as obvious as they had once been. All in all it was as if he was a new person.

Ryoga sighed. "Why did she have to show up here? I left so I wouldn't have to face anyone from Nerima ever again. Why everything following me?" Not finding any answers in the mirror he washed his face off with cold water from the tap, once again reveling in the fact he no longer turned into a pig. Drying off he went down the stairs and started making up some breakfast for the customers he expected in a short while.

o.o

Ukyo knew she needed to stay in bed to recover her strength, but she still found herself itching to get up and explore. It had been a long time since she had seen anyone else from Japan, and she hadn't realized that she'd missed being around people she could understand. But then she had to remind herself that she didn't understand her host. He was a total mystery to her. He was powerfully built but he moved with a speed that had astonished her. After the first time he had refused to look at her even when he was facing her. He had said that she reminded him of someone and that it was a painful memory; so that might explain some of it.

But she still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something that she should know about him, something that she should have noticed immediately. And she realized it. It was the scars. She remembered having seen someone once with the same scar he had on the streets of Kyoto two years before.

Having figured out the mystery she willed herself to sit up and examine her surroundings. It was a strange bedroom in that it seemed to be just that. There were almost no personal items in the room. There was the bed with matching end tables. There was the chair that he had slept in that night and a lamp on one of the tables. That was it. There was nothing else in the room beyond the curtains and the carpet both of which were pale beige. It was almost sterile. It felt as if she were lying in her own private hospital room.

Shaking her head Ukyo slowly got up and walked over to the door. It opened easily and she didn't need to use her injured shoulder so she was okay though it hurt immensely. She limped around the hallway looking for an unlocked door but didn't find one except one at the very end of the hall. It was also a fairly sterile room but it had some objects placed inside of glass cases. The room was dark and Ukyo didn't see a light so she started with the things nearest the door.

The first object was a dollar bill attached to a wooden plaque. Ukyo smiled. She knew the feeling of getting that first profit. Beside the dollar were some empty bottles with dates attached to their necks. Next to that was a large knife with a broken blade. Next to that was an enormous axe that seemed to have dried blood on the blade. Various weapons of all kinds were in the following cases and she went from one to another until she came to a sword that didn't have a case around it at all. Instead it was hung on the wall in brackets. It was in strange shape but seemed quite effective nonetheless. She reached out to touch it before she heard a sound behind her.

"Be careful, that blade is as sharp now as it was when it sliced open my cheek. Besides you probably shouldn't be up right now Ukyo Kuonji." She whirled around, embarrassed at being caught snooping around his house. He must have seen the look on her face because he laughed. "It's alright. This is something of a museum. Sometimes if I'm feeling particularly maudlin I show some of my customers my spoils of battle." He made a vague wave with his hand. "I have more, but these are the ones that were difficult to get."

"But there's so many! How did you get all of these?" She was amazed. She hadn't even gotten to the side of the room opposite the door.

He shrugged. "I used to be a fighter, but not anymore. I discovered that fighting strangers wasn't giving me what I wanted so I quit, and moved here. I like the peace and quiet."

o.o

Ryoga tried to think of something else to do to get her away from the museum. Only the fact the room's lighting was connected to the exterior lights had kept her from noticing what was in the display cases beyond the sword she had almost touched. His umbrella and old clothes and pack were there along with his bandana and pictures of him in various places as a teenager. In fact she was in several of the photos herself. He couldn't explain why he didn't want her to know. There wasn't any real reason to hide it from her.

"If you're hungry I'm serving breakfast downstairs for some of my regulars. One more won't be a problem. On the house too."

"I couldn't possibly impose on you anymore than I currently have. Besides I'm not very hungry." He grinned when her stomach quickly protested her claim. "Okay, so I am hungry. But I can pay."

"I don't doubt that. I just don't want you to. Come on follow me. You weren't in any condition to see my bar last night so I might as well show it off to you now." Reaching out he grabbed onto her arm and started to hustle her down the hall towards his stairs. When Ukyo finally stopped resisting he let go of her and allowed her to follow him.

As both of them stepped into view of the main floor there were several catcalls and whistles. "I told you he was up there with a beautiful girl, Mike, but you wouldn't believe me."

Ryoga reacted in a manner befitting his time spent in Seattle by flipping Charles the bird. "Okay I guess Charles doesn't want to eat this morning. So what's everyone else going to have?"

"Hey! I'll have you know that I was defending your ability to get a date from these doubters." This statement was greeted with snickers from the other three men sitting down.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He waved Ukyo to a seat. "Gentlemen I'd like you to meet Ukyo Kuonji who is from Japan like me. Ukyo, going down the bar is Mike, Lewis, Richard, and the annoying one on the end is Charles who also happens to be a police officer so don't hit him you might hurt something." He tried not to put much extra emphasis on Charles' profession since mentioning would probably get his point across. Either she didn't get the hint, something he didn't think likely, or she didn't want to. Sighing he turned to his regulars. "Usual guys?" At their nods he turned back to the grill. It only took a few seconds to slice off six large hunks of his homemade bread and to cut out the centers. He buttered both sides and set them to cooking before absently grabbing eggs from behind him. He tossed them up so that they cracked in mid air dropping the eggs into the hole of each slice and the shells in the small cup he'd set for just that purpose. Turning back to his customers to ask what they wanted to drink he found them all looking at Ukyo whose jaw was hanging open slightly.

"How did you do that?"

Ryoga raised an eyebrow at the question. "Don't tell me that you can't do that."

She blushed. "Sure I can do that but I didn't think that you could. It's not all that common a skill to learn. I had to practice for years to get to that level and even then I'd never do it in front of people for fear of messing up."

Lewis cut in. "And here Roger's been telling us it was something he just picked up on the road somewhere."

"I did. You see it over and over again and you get to wanting to do it yourself. All it takes is practice."

"You make it sound like a martial art." Lewis laughed.

Ukyo was clearly annoyed by the comment so Ryoga stepped in to head off a blowup. He didn't see her battle spatula anywhere but one could never be too careful. "It is. Martial Arts Food Preparation." The guys started to laugh until they saw that he was completely serious. Turning to Ukyo they saw that her expression was possibly more so.

Luckily for everyone's sake the food was ready and Ryoga moved it onto six plates. "Here you go everyone. One Stopover Sunrise Special."

"What, no bacon?!"

"You know your wife would skin me alive if she knew I gave you bacon, Lewis. And Richard if you could stay after for a minute, I'd like to talk to you about something." Richard acknowledged him with a curt nod, which was just what he'd expected from the normally quiet man.


	4. The Hunt for Καλλιχτι

The Hunt for Καλλιχτι

The Hunt for Καλλιχτι

A MegaCrossover Fanfiction

By Prospero Hibiki

The Grandmaster Mongoose

God of Misdirection, Caffeine, and Those Socks You Lost Last Tuesday

prospero.

Disclaimer:

Were I anything but a poor college student I would ... well I don't know what would happen since I doubt that this situation will change in the foreseeable future except if I fail out of said college. As it is I'm not making any money off of these characters and any character that you don't recognize from Takahashi Rumiko's Ranma ½ series is probably not mine either and instead probably belongs to yet another anime or manga creator. This project is going to be replacing TUSC as my MegaCrossover of choice (because TUSC bored me) and has been fairly well developed so far. I also don't own the Principia Discordia, well that's not true I currently have a hardcopy sitting on my desk but what I mean is that I don't own the rights to it. I certainly don't own the Goddess Eris even though I often converse with her through my pineal gland. Most characters and/or places you see in this story are in part or in whole borrowed from other people's creations. They are not being harmed (much) and shall be returned in the same condition they were found it with an added coat of paint.

o.o

Prologue: Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut or You Might Want to Pay Attention More

If you asked anyone in Nerima about what happened you'd get a variety of answers, most incomprehensible and few, if any, approaching what the rest of the world considers plausible. Of course if you were in Nerima to ask those questions odds are you would have already been far enough removed from the rest of the world and might have accepted these answers as indeed plausible. No two people would agree as to just what happened, but the result was obvious. Still if you asked what started it all, the majority would agree that it was the festival's fortune teller that set things in motion. They would be wrong.

Akane Tendo, the person who everyone, reluctantly or not, agreed was the fiancée to beat in the race for Ranma's heart, would say something different. If anyone had asked her, though none would and indeed none did, she'd say that things started with an argument between her and her fiancé about what would happen if they got married. Despite being much closer to the truth than all the others, she too would be wrong.

Of all the people living in Nerima at the time in question, only one person truly would have been able to reveal when it all started. That person is, of course, the one known as Ranma Saotome himself. It should also come to no surprise that he didn't even recognize the importance of the event that would irrevocably change his life until after it already had, nor did he tell anyone about the incident. But then nobody would have believed him anyway if he had.

Truth be told the story didn't start in Nerima at all...

o.o

There are times in my life where I have grown completely dissatisfied with how things are going. Not that unusual I suppose, but sometimes I wonder if other people have to put up with all the crap I do. Hiroshi doesn't seem to and neither does Daisuke. So why do I have to? I mean, I know life isn't fair and all that, but it seems like it should at least be a little more balanced than it currently is.

Shrugging I kick off of my position on the roof of a convenience store and toss the empty box of strawberry pocky into the nearby trashcan after making sure no one is watching. I like the flavor, but my mom has some really weird ideas on manliness and frowned the last time she saw me have some. It's just a stupid cookie with frosting on it! It's not like eating the damned thing will suddenly and irrevocably change my sexual orientation. As it is I think my mom spends more time thinking about me having sex than I do, something really hard considering that Shampoo still tends to lose clothes whenever it seems convenient for her. I routinely thank whatever god was looking out for me for seeing to it that no one else was around when my mother suggested that I start giving the girls a try so see which one I liked best. I don't think anyone in her right mind would have doubted for a second just what she meant by that comment. I still have no idea how Nabiki didn't find out about her idea, but it's yet another thing I'm thankful for.

Taking a moment to flip back onto the ground I start walking with no particular direction in mind, only the hope of having a peaceful Sunday afternoon pushing me forward. It won't happen, but it'd be nice; which is why I've spent as much time as I have traveling though the mass transit system to get to where I am. Yep, Tokyo Tower.

I get up to the observation deck and wander around looking across the city. I have some money left over and spend a few hundred yen on various telescopes to look at things. At the one on the Nerima side I could swear I see a giant version of Happosai, but shrug it off since the tower is so far away from the ward. There's a bouncy redhead at one of the other nearby telescopes, and I do mean bouncing since I haven't seen her stand still since she got there, and I edge away slightly when for just a second I imagine a set of cat ears appear on her head. Weird. And kind of scary...to someone else of course. Not me. Nope, not me at all. Still I think I'll give her a little bit of space so she doesn't feel trapped. That'd be just plain rude. Yeah, I just want to be polite.

A bright flash lights the area and I spin around and fall into a combat stance and grin sheepishly at the people around when I can see nothing's changed except three girls are hugging. Oh yeah, really dangerous Ranma. It's kind of embarrassing really. I hurry over to a different part of the deck to see if there is anything interesting to see over there. Not really, or that's what the rest of the crowd must be thinking since there are only three people over here and they are sitting at a small table arguing with one another. Or something like that. They're speaking in English and mine isn't quite as good as I'd like. I ignore them and walk over to one of the telescopes and pop in a coin. There isn't much to look at really, but I stay there. It's kind of depressing really, watching people walk by and knowing that they probably don't have the problems I do. That guy in the white school shirt with the blond on his arm and a cigarette in his mouth probably doesn't have to worry about some other girl who can't decide to love him or hate him, and he definitely doesn't have to worry about people from hidden tribe in China trying to attack his girlfriend out of jealously. My time runs out and I move to a different spot, one that doesn't have a telescope and just gaze out the window.

"There's no way we'll ever be able to find it ourselves." The three guys now seem to be arguing in Japanese so it's harder to tune them out. I think I know now why no one was over here. "All three of us have things we need to do that can't be done while searching." After a short pause he continues. "Besides we're too normal. We've already traveled to ten different worlds and nothing in the least bit strange has happened since..."

I try harder and manage to succeed in blocking their voices out once more. Leaning against the railing I look out the window once more. I wish I could say my life were that uneventful. I blink when one of the buildings in the distance ceases to exist and a dragon shaped pillar of flame takes its place. Now that's something I haven't seen in weeks.


	5. Devils' Bargin

On That Winter's Day

Devils' Bargin

A Ranma ½ Fanfiction

By Prospero Hibiki

The Grandmaster Mongoose

God of Misdirection, Caffeine, and Those Socks You Lost Last Tuesday

prospero.

Disclaimer:

Were I anything but a poor college student I would ... well I don't know what would happen since I doubt that this situation will change in the foreseeable future except if I fail out of said college. As it is I'm not making any money off of these characters and any character that you don't recognize from Takahashi Rumiko's Ranma ½ series is mine. And the truly sad thing is I'm not even making money off of them.

The dojo was quiet when Ranma arrived home from his afternoon study session with Hinako-sensei. But then he'd expected that. The old men had been taken out on a short training trip by Happosai during the morning, and no one else was very likely to make much noise in the afternoon. Besides he'd already passed Kasumi as she was shopping for the week. She looked like she was almost done meaning she'd started much earlier in the day since she liked to travel to several out of the way stores to get the best deals.

It was a steady sound all the more dreadful for its normalcy. He'd heard something similar a thousand times before and would undoubtedly hear it a thousand more, but this time, for some unknown reason, he feared it. Perhaps it was because he was just that, male. Normally he heard the steady drip of liquid falling from his own female body after having his curse activated by some accident or another. But this time there was none of that. The sound was different than usual too. It was more...solid for lack of a better term. No, it would be fair to say that Ranma knew something was wrong in the Tendo family kitchen. For once he could only pray that whatever was wrong was his fiancé's cooking. Somehow he knew that he'd be extremely lucky if that were the case.

Crossing the dining room in a flash of speed brought about by pure terror brought Ranma to the kitchen. Looking in it was all he could do not to turn around and throw up. Only the shock of the situation itself and the total fury he was feeling kept him rooted to the spot he was standing in.

His first instinct was to rush over to Akane and check to see if she was all right, but he couldn't. There was no way she could still be alive as she was, and if she were it would almost be better if she weren't. Whoever, whatever, had killed her had...opened her up as if she were a hunk of meat. There was blood all over the kitchen, the largest puddle forming underneath the table where she lay, blood dripping down her arm and slowly falling to the ground in a steady drip, drip, drip. Ranma could feel the tears start to flow out of his eyes. He'd loved Akane despite all the things that had gone wrong between them. He slumped against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. He couldn't make himself move anymore.

Ranma only wanted to curl up and die. His throat started to close up on its own, but well honed reflexes cut that off without his even being aware of it. Without even seeing it an aura started to form around him. It wasn't his standard aura, but rather one more likely to be seen around Ryoga during his infrequent appearances in the area. Sickly green with traces of black around the edges, it slowly started to fill the room with its brightness. Light started to shine through the windows of the house starting with those at the kitchen and progressing to those in the other rooms. By this time Ranma had stopped breathing completely despite everything his body could do to keep itself functioning. Only a last ditch attempt to cannibalize some of the aura he was producing to maintain his energy was keeping him alive at all.

All of that changed with a sharp intake of breath. Tears were now starting to evaporate off of his face being burned off by the energies being produced in the room. The aura of one part of his body started to change with the sudden increase in oxygen to his brain. His left hand started to glow a dull red that slowly started to grow more intense. With it Ranma's expression changed from one of extreme remorse to that of pure hatred. Someone had killed the person he loved. With what little rational thought he still processed he stood and walked out of the house and into a corner of the compound. Sitting down he started to focus all of his anger and his hate into his hand itself instead of forming it into a ball. He didn't want to get ride of it. He wanted it to stay with him, fuel him while he searched for whatever had killed Akane. Already he could feel whatever he was doing making new pathways in his chi. There was raw power in what he was doing, but instinctively he could tell there was going to be a price. Whatever it was though he would be willing to pay it as long as he could outlive whatever had done this thing.

It occurred to him, when he sensed several powerful auras coming towards him at high speed, that whatever he was doing was putting out a great deal of energy into his surroundings. The closest two that he could sense were ones he knew, Happosai and Cologne, and though they were the same distance away it seemed they were coming from different directions. Not knowing what they would do if they got to him before he was finished he tried to speed up the pace at which the change was happening.

He was most of the way there when he felt most of the energy start to leave his body. In his mind he screamed. He wasn't done. He needed more time. Looking up, as consciousness started to leave him, he was completely surprised to see Ms. Hinako draining him using one of the techniques that she'd been taught by Happosai as a child. Still he couldn't help but smirk as he used what little strength he had to partially complete what he'd been doing. He didn't know what it was going to do, but he knew that there was no going back. With that he let himself fall into the blackness.


	6. Līberē Volō

Līberē Volō

Līberē Volō

A Ranma ½ Fanfiction

By Prospero Hibiki

prospero.

Disclaimer:

Were I anything but a poor college student I would ... well I don't know what would happen since I doubt that this situation will change in the foreseeable future except if I fail out of said college. As it is I'm not making any money off of these characters and any character that you don't recognize from Takahashi Rumiko's Ranma ½ series is mine. And the truly sad thing is I'm not even making money off of them.

I stare at the person I'd been talking to for the last hour, because frankly the request she is making of me is just too weird even by my standards. Which is why I was sitting in a coffee shop across from a complete stranger in a cloak that hid most of her face from view.

"So let me get this straight. You want me to go with you to this other world in order to take up the position of its guardian. This position might cause people to come after me just to kill me so they can do what they want, and because of this you can't guarantee that I will live a long life." I look at the woman in the flowing cloak to see if I was right so far, continuing when she nods. "Now in addition to this you say that there is no way for me to ever get back or for me to take anyone with me, so when I go I must effectively cut all ties with my life here." The lady nods again. "The benefits are that you'll take away my Jusenkyo curse, and once I'm there I'll have a home that I can go to where all my needs will be met while still keeping the ability to travel wherever I want?" Again she nodded. "Lady, nothing personal, but this seems much too good to be true. I'm not this lucky. There's got to be some catch somewhere like a fiancé or seven."

She speaks once more apparently seeing that a nod wouldn't suffice this time. "No, Ranma there is no catch as you call it. My world is in need of a guardian and I believe you would be perfect." I've been amazed at how calmly she is offering all of this to me. Nabiki probably would have screamed by now. Don't get me wrong I'm not an idiot like everyone seems to think I am, it's just that in everything except martial arts I like to take my time figuring things out because I know that I have very little real world experience in other fields. Nabiki's figured that out unconsciously because she tends to get her way most of the time when she rushes me. Which is precisely the reason I'm taking my time right now.

The only thing I can really see wrong with this is if she isn't telling me the truth, and she really doesn't seem like the type of person that would give me such an outrageous story and expect me to believe it to be the truth unless it was. So is what she telling me the truth? Probably. Is she leaving some things out that I might have a problem dealing with? Definitely. So some might be wondering if I'm just jumping at the chance for an imaginary cure, and I might be but then this lady has already flipped me back and forth several times showing me that she can indeed cure my curse. She's just holding it in reserve so I don't back out on any deal. I also get the feeling that if she has to she'll lock me in my cursed form in order to get me to accept. Not something I want in any stretch of the imagination.

Now why am I not particularly concerned about cutting all my ties here? Sure I'll miss some people, but really I couldn't care less about most of them. It was great having that many girls chasing after me, but it got old really quick especially when you factor in all the guys that were chasing after them. I'll miss Akane the most because I'll always think that if I tried a little harder I could have been really happy with her. Then again I might have been absolutely miserable. I'd probably miss Ryoga most of all just because though no one else in Nerima seemed to care about the Art like I did he came close. No one else kept me on my toes like he did.

I guess I've already made up my mind really. I can't think of any reasons to stay. I look over at the lady, who still hasn't told me her name, and I guess she sees my decision on my face because she nods before I can even open my mouth.

"When would you like to leave, Ranma? I can send you at anytime, but once the magic is set then when it activates you will go. Even if you are not fully prepared." She gives me what to me is a rather significant look. I understand completely. If I'm not carrying what I want then it'll get left behind.

All I need to do is get some things that I've wanted to get a hold of for a while before I go. Definitely the Saotome Forbidden Techniques. Just because she says there isn't a catch doesn't mean that's true and knowing the whole set of techniques would come in real handy if I ever needed them. Some of the dried curse powders would be great in case of an emergency too. But what else do I really need? She's told me "all my needs will be met," her words, so what should I bring? Something occurs to me. "I will be able to speak the language, right?" At her nod I furrow my brow in thought once more. I should probably bring some regular camping gear just in case. Normally I carry rocks around in my pack to give it some more weight but I should probably replace those with something for this trip. Maybe some training manuals. That's it really. Two days? Maybe three if Pops has hidden his scrolls someplace strange. I'll take any other scrolls I come across while I'm looking as well as some books from the library. Though those will probably be returned late. Really late if everything goes as planned. Four days though is probably too long to expect for the peace and quiet I'll need to sort everything out satisfactorily.

"Three days from now at noon. So that would be this upcoming Tuesday at noon." I look at her once more to see if this is an acceptable time for her. When she nods I decide for sure. This'll give me the rest of today as well as Sunday and Monday to get things together while leaving me Tuesday morning to get far enough away that I won't be forced into a fight at an inopportune time. "Okay let's do it. Cast your spell or whatever you need to do to make this thing happen."

In the first real show of emotion on her face I can see her mouth spread in a large smile. It's different than the sort of smirk Nabiki would flash after duping me into some scheme or another. No this one is as if some great weight has been lifted from her shoulders by my agreeing. "Thank you so much for agreeing to help me Ranma-sama. Now that you've agreed I can finally rest. I've been searching for someone capable of guarding my home for so long, and now that my quest is over I can finally rest." Before I can make any sense of her strange statement she's weaving her fingers together swiftly each trailing a color only slightly different than the ones beside it, and yet all together the colors cover the entire spectrum of the rainbow. They come together into a small lattice for a brief second before disappearing in a bright, yet surprisingly small, flash.

Instantly I can feel a slight tingling pinprick on the back of my right hand that I realize is the magic of whatever she did. I can imagine it slowly expanding to cover my entire body until it finally becomes my time to leave for wherever I'm going. I look up at her in awe knowing I am at long last on my way to being curse free, only to pause as I see her frowning. "What's wrong?" It would be so like my life if something had gone wrong.

"Nothing is wrong." She shrugs. "Your curse seems to be rooted a bit deeper than I'd thought." She must see my growing frown because she hurriedly continues. "It still worked; it just took more power than I'd thought it would. It's just a good thing you don't have two such curses. I don't know how it would have reacted if I'd had to use much more power than I did. But that's getting into the realm of magical efficiency and the differences between static and fluid magic. None of which has any bearing on our dealings, Ranma-sama."

Personally I disagreed since I've had a lot of experience with magic gone awry, but I wasn't going to get into a large debate that would distract me from things I needed to know. "So how exactly am I supposed to find my way around in this other world? Specifically to my new home?"

"That's really quite simple, Ranma-sama. The place I send you to will be at the top of a large hill with a rather large square rock on it. If you look closely around the base you'll find a finger hole that will open a compartment containing a map of Gamettir with both the hillside and your home clearly marked. I've also left a pouch with some money and a small book on things you might need to know."

She'd brought up a good point and one I hadn't even thought of, money. But then she seemed to know what she was doing. All of which made me curious about what she'd said earlier concerning the amount of time she'd been searching. Being the suave sophisticate that I am, I try to find a subtle way to lead her onto the topic that I wish to know. "So just how long were you searching for a guardian?" Even as I ask I want to smack myself for my stupidity. The Saotome School of Martial Arts Subtlety is rather new and hence needs quite a bit of work, but at least this time I didn't shout out the school's name before I asked like I did that time with Nabiki. That did produce a new move, though just where I'll be able to use my new final attack, The Burst of Uncontrollable Laughter, is up for debate.

Seeming to ignore my social ineptitude she actually answers my question. "Almost two hundred years now, Ranma-sama."

That was slightly more time than I'd expected, and I could feel my eyes widen in surprise. It definitely made sense when she said she wanted to rest after finally finding me. "

/--

As I finally got to the place where the map said I could live when I wanted to, it occurred to me that people have very different ideas of what is necessary. Mine resolve around four walls, a roof, bathing facilities, and a decently stocked kitchen. Everything else is just pure luxury. From Kiima's reaction to my new home, I expect her idea of necessities lies fairly close to my own. Clearly though my benefactor's concept of the same is somewhat more grand.

It has four walls, a roof, and somewhere within the fortified manor house there must be a kitchen and bathroom. Maybe several of each if there really are several buildings within the walls of the compound as there appear to be from my vantage point on the hillside. The only reason that I even think that the entire compound belongs to me is because the small book that Kiima and I have relied upon says it is, and so far the book hasn't steered us wrong yet. Still when it said buildings I was expecting at most a two-story house, a shed, and a dojo if I was really lucky. Heck I've seen monastery's that could fit inside the walls I see before me twice over.

I turn to Kiima only to find her staring at my new home in awe. I hate to interrupt her, but I still need to keep my promise to her. "Well it seems I might be able to find space for you somewhere." Snorting as I look at it once more myself, I continue. "Heck, I can probably find you a building if you really want it. You are more than welcome to call this your home for as long as you wish. What's mine is yours. You won't even need to see me if you so wish it."

"Why?" she asks, her voice trembling a bit for only the second time during the days we've been traveling together. I try to push that thought out of my mind because it brings back the memory of her anguished sobs when she'd thought she'd lost her wings forever.

I frown because I'd thought it was obvious. "Because it's my fault you are here. My fault you no longer have a home. My fault that you are forced to be this close to me when you'd much rather never see me again. And more than those perhaps, because you've given me, unintentionally perhaps but given just the same, the one thing I've always wanted more than anything else in whatever world." And in a voice so soft I doubt she can even hear, I reveal my deepest, darkest secret. Of how truly jealous I'd been when I'd first seen her, and how that feeling had returned when she'd stumbled upon me in that clearing. "To fly under my own power like a bird in the sky."


	7. Point of Return

"I've got too much time on my hands

Point of Return

-Prospero Hibiki

--

The forest that night was witness to a strange sight. A young man was kneeling in the ground cover underneath the tallest pine tree for miles around. It had drawn him like a magnet, which considering the young man's sense of direction was saying quite a bit. Ryoga Hibiki was kneeling and doing something that he had not done for several years. He was praying. Not to the Christian god, or Buddha, or any other divinity. But rather he was praying to anyone, anything that would listen to his plea.

"I've got too much time on my hands. Too much time to thinks about the things that I've done. That is one of the things that I'd never really noticed about the night before. It's so quiet that I am forced to think about what happened. I'm scared of how everything is going to turn out. Not for me. God no! I frankly don't care anymore what happens to me because I know that I'll get what I deserve. It's the others that I worry about. They were all hurt by what happened and I don't know if they will ever recover fully. Oh God, if only I could have changed what happened. If I had only been a little faster, a little stronger, a little more observant things might have turned out differently. She might still be alive and I still might have my friends."

"It's funny. I never really thought of Ranma as my friend before. He always used to do horrible things to me and tease me, but he was my friend. It was just hard for him to express himself I can see that now. I can see so much now that I couldn't before. Akane really loved him and I screwed that up. And for what? Some half conceived thought that we were meant to be together forever. I can still remember the look on her face from after she slapped me. The disgust at what I had done to everyone. Ranma, Genma, Akane … Ukyo. Oh God, I can't believe I did that to Ukyo. I never meant for her to die…"

"God, I know there is no reason that I deserve a second chance and so I'm not asking for one. What I want from you is make everything right. Make it so that I never existed so that she could still be alive and that Akane and Ranma can be happy together. That's how it was supposed to be in the first place."

Ryoga looked up at the sky. He couldn't hear anything, no indication that his prayer had been heard. The indifferent sky just stared back at him. No one was there to hear his sobs as he sank to his knees on the forest floor.

"Damn you." He said into his hands. "Damn you. Make it right. Make things right!" He shouted the last into the sky at the top of his lungs. "I'll give you whatever you want, do anything you want to make things right. Just let me make things right!"

He curled up under the giant pine, but sleep, even a restless one, was a long time coming.

--

Ryoga woke up in a place he didn't recognize, but then that wasn't that unusual for him considering his unique 'problem'. It usually took him several minutes to really wake up so he expected to realize where he was soon, or at least have an idea of where he was even if it wasn't correct. He was already reaching over to where he usually put his pack before he remembered that he had left it at the cliff where Ukyo had fallen. So he was extremely surprised when his outstretched hand touched the heavy cloth that he made his backpacks from.

"That's strange." Still too tired to give a larger reaction, Ryoga looked around a bit more. The area seemed a little familiar to him, but he knew he had never been there before. There was one thing he was sure of though; he wasn't where he had gone to sleep. Maybe he was just being a little bit paranoid, but Ryoga thought he would have remembered going to sleep inside of a large throne room. It was usually only when he was awake that he went strange places.

"Ahhhh. You're finally awake. I suppose that anyone would become tired after running the length of Japan in a day and a half." The voice echoed slightly but definitely was coming from behind him from the direction of the throne. The throne that Ryoga would have sworn had been empty not half a second before.

Ryoga stood and assumed a fighting stance. "Who are you? And how did I get here?"

"Did you mean what you said?"

"What?" Ryoga was confused.

"Would you do anything to fix your mistake, Ryoga Hibiki?"

He collapsed from his stance, the weight of his guilt falling upon his shoulders once again. He was about to say yes when the man held up his hand.

"Don't be too hasty to agree. I asked if you would be willing to do anything to fix your mistake. You think you would, but what if I asked you to kill an innocent person? Would you agree so quickly?"

Ryoga stared aghast at the man sitting in front of him. "You would make me exchange one mistake for another?" He could see that his answer was very important to the man so he concentrated on the question. Would he kill someone to save Ranma and Akane's relationship, to save Genma's pride, to save Ukyo's life? He knew that it was the last one that was the most important. But could he kill someone to save her life? What would Ukyo have done?

"No, I wouldn't kill someone to save her. She would not do the same to save herself. But if you want blood to bring her back, take mine. I don't want to live if she can't. If you can change that I'll give you my life and think it a bargain worthy of Nabiki."

"No, Ryoga. I won't take your life in exchange for hers. That would be a too merciful end for what you've done. Neither would I have allowed you to kill. It was a test, and it was one that you passed. Rather I will make you live and try to atone."

Bowing his head, Ryoga could only agree with what the man was saying. It would be too easy for him to kill himself.

"Look at me Ryoga Hibiki. I am not saying this to be cruel, but rather to help you. You are going to be punished, but not by me. You will suffer ordeals true but the worst won't be because of me or anyone else. Remember and dream about what you did, what you couldn't do, what happened because of you. Perhaps in time you will be able to overcome these ordeals, but until then they will be your penance. But my question remains. What would you do in order to correct your mistake?" Immediately the man turned around and was simply gone, indicating that the conversation was over at least for the moment.

Ryoga sat down and thought about if for several minutes. How would he know what was an acceptable act? He knew he wouldn't be able to use his own conscious as a guide because he hadn't seen anything wrong with what he was doing until it was too late. It had cost so many people so much that he didn't know if he would ever be able to trust himself again. Ryoga wondered who he could trust if he couldn't trust himself. He didn't trust Ranma, because of all of their history together. He didn't trust himself around Akane, because simply thinking about her was enough to ruin his composure. The only other person he knew well enough to ask for advice was … dead.

Ukyo had always been able to help him out with things he had been having problems with but now that she was gone he couldn't turn to her for help. Or could he? She wasn't there to ask but he had his memories of her, and he had talked to her enough to understand what she would do and wouldn't do. She'd disagreed with him at times about some of his outrageous plans, violently on occasion. With a start he realized that he had never consulted her about what he had intended to do. What would Ukyo have done? She wouldn't have agreed to go along with his plan because she was too aware of how people react when things are taken away from them. It was probably the reason he hadn't told her. And the reason why she'd died. He wouldn't let something like that happen again. The reality of what he was thinking hit him. He already knew how he could judge his actions. He was already doing it. He felt a hand grip his shoulder gently.

"Good, Ryoga. That is a good choice. I give you back the time you used poorly and two other gifts. Perhaps they will help you on your journey. Now sleep, but remember."

The man made a motion with his hand and Ryoga became tired, but not overly so.

The man muttered under his breath. "Why can't the Hibiki's be as easy to work with as everyone else is? He gives me almost as much trouble as his cousin does. (Me wondereth who he speaketh of - PH) " He motioned again this time harder and with sharper movements.

Ryoga fell into a deep sleep.

--

Ryoga awoke lying with his head upon his backpack. The enormous thicket of bamboo surrounding him was his first indication that his dream had been real. He remembered quite well that before that spectacular dream he had fallen asleep under a pine tree. Looking around he wondered why the scenery was familiar this time. It was slow in coming, but finally he realized where he was, or perhaps more accurately when he was, for he had no real notion of where the place was. True to his word the man had sent him back to three months before the incident. Ryoga remembered the day well. It was the day that he had come up with his 'perfect' plan.

There was a sharp pang as Ryoga's mind replayed the events of that fateful day. The being had said that it would happen; he just hadn't expected it so soon. Ryoga was almost glad because it was his punishment. The memory and dreams like the man had said. He hoped the dreams were worse for he deserved the punishment.

Ryoga moved out of the thicket and looked around. He picked a random direction to walk in because he knew it really wouldn't matter which way he went since it would take him a week to get to Nerima.

He walked down the street and by large buildings without stopping for directions like he normally did. Ryoga figured that he would get to Nerima when he needed to so he just let it alone.

"Hey P-chan! What are you doing back here so soon?"

Ryoga realized that he hadn't eaten since before the incident on the cliff. He was starting to hear things. He looked around and walked to an abandoned lot to cook some food. It looked vaguely familiar but then he always had vague senses of déjà vu even when it was uncalled for. He took out his portable grill and fired it up.

"Hey Stupid? What are you doing?"

Ryoga was amazed at how persistent his subconscious was in trying to get his attention, so he cooked faster. It wouldn't do to start throwing punches at the illusory Ranma. People might think he was insane.

"Hey those are octopus puffs! Can I have some?"

It was incredibly tempting to smash the figment of his imagination, but Ryoga didn't want to start off his second chance by brushing off his haunting spirits. The owners of the lot would probably appreciate it as well, since he did have an annoying tendency of smashing things not directly related to his fights. Ryoga put up with it because he figured he was owed some pain and suffering. He popped one of the octopus puffs into his mouth. It pretty close to being perfectly done.

"Come on Ryoga, give me some." The illusion darted its hand out and grabbed one of the puffs out of the frying pan.

"That's it. I don't care if you are an illusion." Ryoga punched out with his left hand, more than slightly surprised when he actually came into contact with something. Something that then smashed through one of the lot's cinderblock walls.

"What did you do that for you idiot? I only took one! You have plenty left." Ranma tried to pull himself out of the wall, but it was kind of hard because only his hands and feet hadn't gone through to the other side. The rest of his body was shoved through a hole the size of a tea service platter. It looked rather funny really with Ranma's hands and feet wiggling around like some giant spider.

Ryoga was puzzled. "Ranma is that you?"

"Of course it's me! Now help me out of here!"

Ryoga scratched his head. He wasn't supposed to get to Nerima for another week yet. He sat down on his pack to think about it for a while. After a while he realized he was still hungry so he ate the rest of the puffs and put his gear away before sitting back down to think, pushing all outside distractions aside. Ryoga knew that everyone thought he was an idiot, but he knew that he just tended to overanalyze things. It was several hours later by the time he finished thinking, but he felt he had figured out what was going on.

Apparently the man who had given him the second chance had decided that Ryoga could get more accomplished if he got to Nerima earlier, so the man had somehow guided him there. The only problem Ryoga would see with that would be that he would probably wander off and get lost as soon as he stood up to leave. Deciding to get it over with Ryoga stood up and stretched. He looked up and saw clouds forming in the noon sky. "Hmm it looks like it's going to rain."

"Gee, you think so, Ryoga? This is only Nerima after all. Now get me the hell out of this wall!" Ranma's left foot was twitching angrily.

"Are you still there, Ranma?" Ryoga scratched his head again. He had thought Ranma would be able to get out of that position a long time ago.

"Of course, I'm still in here! What is it with you today? You aren't normally this stupid."

Ryoga was tempted to just leave the pig-tailed martial artist where he was. But as good as that sounded … as really good as it sounded … He stopped to think about it again.

"Are you going to help me out of here or not?"

"I haven't decided yet," Ryoga said. Finally he figured that although Ranma was a jerk he could at least lead him around until the three months were up. Ryoga paused at that thought. What would happen at the end of the three months? The man had only said that he could fix his mistakes he hadn't even mentioned what would happen afterwards. As much as Ryoga wanted to shrug that thought off, it stuck with him until he remembered that he needed to help Ranma out of the wall.

Just as he was about to pull Ranma out, Ryoga had an idea. He quickly pulled out his camera and snapped a few shots. He would get them framed and they would be a great gift for Mousse's birthday next month. It also solved the problem of his not having a gift for the party. That had been so embarrassing. At least he knew Ranma wouldn't have one.

It only took a second to yank Ranma out of the wall. Unfortunately, it took slightly longer to straighten Ranma's body out of the position he had been in for several hours. It was all Ryoga could do not to attack him immediately afterwards for making his life a living hell, but he resisted the temptation by repeating over and over in his mind that he needed Ranma's help.

Ranma had started to walk off before Ryoga worked up the courage to ask for his help. "Wait a moment, Ranma! I need your help." He mentally hit himself for saying it that way. It was the perfect opportunity for Ranma.

Ranma froze in his tracks. "Did I hear you say something?"

Ryoga gritted his teeth. Despite his need to overcome his irrational anger towards Ranma, he had to acknowledge that the jerk could still annoy him like no other. "I said I needed your help." He swore that if Ranma so much as smirked…

He did more than that. Ranma not only smirked he made Ryoga repeat himself several times. Each time Ryoga found even more self control from the bottom of his will. Up to a point that is.

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"

With one swing of his umbrella Ryoga launched Ranma into Medium Earth Orbit. (Not to be confused wit Akane's Low Earth Orbit technique.) It was as Ranma was passing a stationary communications satellite that Ryoga remembered why he hadn't done that in the first place.

The resulting scream echoed throughout the ward, but everyone shrugged it off thinking Happosai had returned. There was however a massive run on easily swung, blunt objects at the local Daiei. One can never be too safe when walking the streets of Nerima.

--

Ryoga trudged through the streets of Nerima holding his umbrella over his head to block the pounding rain. It was slightly strange for him because although he was lost he knew he was still in Nerima. The reason he knew was that people kept telling him he was. What was even stranger though was that he was actually heading in the right direction, towards the Tendo Dojo. Ryoga figured it was just a fluke. After all even he was entitled to get where he wanted to go once in a while. So what if it was the once part that was most accurate. It did take him longer than it would have anyone else though because he had never taken the direct path to the dojo before. But by the time he actually got to the front gate he had actually discovered that most of the places he had been to in Nerima were fairly close together. It was amazing.

He was about to knock on the door when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

It was Kasumi. "Why, hello, Ryoga. I see you are back from your trip. You're just in time for a late lunch. This rain has kept me from getting back as quickly as I wanted to."

He didn't really want to impose, but the thought of a meal made by Kasumi was enough to make his mouth water. He noticed that she was having a little bit of difficulty with the bags and offered to take them from her.

"Oh, thank you. That would be a great help." She smiled and Ryoga couldn't help but smile back. It was Kasumi, after all.

Almost absently Ryoga replaced his umbrella in its straps and took all of the groceries from her. He couldn't help but think that he was forgetting something. He figured that he would remember what it was eventually. It only took a minute to follow Kasumi though the house and into the kitchen with the bags. The rain had thoroughly soaked the bags by that time and they almost disintegrated in his hands. He placed his pack in one of the corners and helped her to unpack the groceries.

Afterwards Kasumi turned to him. "I suppose you are going to need a place to stay the night, so why don't you put your stuff in Ranma's room." She smiled. "You two are such good friends that you should get along fine. I'll should have lunch done by the time you make it back."

Ryoga nodded his thanks and picked up his pack. He went up the stairs and dropped his stuff off in the room and came back. Sure enough Kasumi was already making some tea and had several sandwiches for them to eat.

"Thank you. Do you need any help Kasumi? I feel bad for imposing on you." He ignored her when she said that she could handle everything. He just didn't feel right, remembering all the times she had been kind to him while he was a pig. Actually, he realized, that she had always been kind to him no matter what was happening at the time. "I know, how about I cook dinner for everyone tonight. You deserve a night off."

"That isn't necessary. I always cook."

"I know and that is why you won't tonight." He had made up his mind. Kasumi was always working herself too hard for the family. She needed to be able to take a break every so often. "Oh don't worry. I'm a very good cook." He saw that she was a little apprehensive. "Really. You wouldn't believe the number of times I've earned some free meals and a little bit of spending money by working as a cook. They would show me how to make something and I could usually figure out how to make it on my own in a couple of minutes. Eventually I started collecting recipes. It was something to keep me occupied while I was trying to find my way back here."

Kasumi was staring wide-eyed. "So you like to cook?"

Ryoga had to think about that for a while. "I guess I do. I don't often do it because it is too expensive to cook a really good meal when you are going to be the only person to eat it. It's actually cheaper to just make stews using whatever meat I can get my hands on." He'd never really thought about it before. He had always looked at cooking as something that he did to make his way back to Nerima. He had never realized that he enjoyed doing it.

"So do you have any of your recipes with you now?" Kasumi seemed thrilled with the chance to discuss recipes with someone who both knew how to cook and enjoyed doing so. Ryoga made a quick trip upstairs in order to get his recipe book. He found Kasumi had gotten one of her own out and was preparing to take notes.

"Here's one that you might like. Sautéed flounder garnished with bamboo shoots."

--

Ryoga had talked with Kasumi for several hours about topics more diverse than he had ever thought possible. It was amazing, but under that shy exterior lurked a person who could do anything she wanted to do. He hadn't realized that she had been taking college courses from home and that she was well on her way at finishing a double major in biology and mathematics. He had helped her out around the house lifting the furniture and otherwise helping her do things put off for too long. They had continued to talk even while he was preparing the evening meal. Ryoga had forced Kasumi to sit at the kitchen table with a cup of tea. Several times he had found her sneaking over to check some of the food, at which time he pointed firmly at the chair.

There had only been two awkward moments between the two the entire evening. The first had happened when Kasumi had asked what Ryoga had been up to while he had been gone. Ryoga thought that if anyone would believe him it would be Kasumi, but he wasn't ready to burden anyone else under his guilt, especially Kasumi who had always been kind to him. Instead he had just remained silent for a long time before he changed he subject. Kasumi realized he didn't want to talk about it and hadn't asked again.

The second incident had caught Ryoga completely off guard. He should have realized that any discussion of Ranma's fiancée situation would bring up Ukyo. It had surprised him how suddenly the topic came up, though. One moment they had been talking about Dr. Tofu's return to Nerima, which had happened several months back, and then Kasumi had changed the topic.

"It's kind of sad though how much Ranma's refusing to admit how he feels is hurting everyone. Especially Ukyo. She put her entire life aside to chase after Ranma. She really doesn't deserve to be kept in suspense like this. Don't you agree?"

He was suddenly very glad that he was facing away from the kitchen table. Ryoga had stopped cutting up the daikan when she had mentioned Ukyo's name and had started to cry. He could only remember how he had completely ruined Ukyo's dreams and then how he had failed to save her from the collapsing cliff.

It had apparently taken Kasumi a while to realize that he was crying. Ryoga felt her arms wrap around his shoulders and he only cried harder. It took him several minutes to get himself back under control. He was immediately ashamed. He didn't deserve compassion after what he had done. He deserved rather to be shut away from all human contact where he could never again hurt anyone.

"I'm sorry, Ryoga. I didn't know you felt that strongly about Ukyo."

Ryoga understood that she was misunderstanding the situation, but he didn't really want to admit why he had reacted the way he had. Instead he asked a question that had been pestering him all day.

"Kasumi, why do people get second chances?" He saw that she was confused. "I mean, why would someone who has done something horrible to another person get a chance to make everything right?"

"I think you have answered your own question."

Ryoga tilted his head to the side not fully understanding. It couldn't be right.

"Just think about it Ryoga."

Ryoga shook his head in order to clear it. He then picked up the knife and started chopping again. "Kasumi how did you get to be so smart?"

"Maybe it's because I've been a big sister for so long."

He smiled at her. "Can I call you my big sister too? You always seem to help me think more clearly."

"Sure, Ryoga. You know? I've never had a little brother before."

The two of them looked at each other and started laughing, and the conversation changed to happier topics.

--

Soun was the first one to get back home from a long day of training on the outskirts of town. Ryoga had thought he had seen him there, but at the time he hadn't realized he was anywhere near Nerima. It seemed strange to him that Mr. Tendo didn't even notice him being there. But then he had always thought both Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome were a little oblivious of the world around them.

As if thinking about him caused him to appear, Ryoga saw Genma's panda body walk up the path. He seemed equally indifferent to Ryoga watching from the kitchen and he had finally figured out why. It was because they could smell the edible food cooking so there should be someone in the kitchen, and since only Kasumi could cook well, there was no reason to investigate further. His suspicions were confirmed when as one the two martial artists asked Kasumi when dinner would be ready. He placed his finger in front of his lips indicating that she not tell anyone about his cooking.

She gave him a curious look before answering. "Oh, it should be ready in about an hour father." She turned toward Ryoga. "Why don't you want me to tell them you are here?" she asked, her voice not reaching any further than his ears.

Ryoga didn't know why he had wanted to conceal his presence. It had just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. He thought about making something up, but he didn't want to lie to Kasumi. "I don't know. It just came to me." He looked around and saw that there really wasn't much more to do until the chicken finished cooking. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, Ryoga you've done too much already."

"I really don't mind I needed to think some things out and it helps if I keep busy." He grinned. "Maybe I should be thanking you for letting me help you out. I've had a lot of time to think today, and I think I've figured some important things out."

Kasumi laughed for a few seconds before turning slightly somber. "In that case there is something you could do for me. I must warn you though that it will be dangerous."

Ryoga perked up a little. He wondered what Kasumi could need done that might be considered dangerous. Everything avoided hurting Kasumi.

"I need someone to get rid of some leftovers that are in the refrigerator." She must have seen his face fault because she hurriedly continued. "I know it doesn't sound that dangerous but these aren't just ordinary leftovers. These leftovers were made by Akane and have taken over the bottom shelves. By force."

It was the perfect opportunity for Ryoga. Not only could he help out Kasumi, but he could also get in some serious training. Nothing put up more of a fight than some of Akane's leftovers. Many had been the times where a sleepy P-chan stumbled into the kitchen only to be attacked by something that Akane had missed after she cleaned up. It would be a relief to finally be able to get some revenge. He cracked his knuckles. "How long have they been in there?" It was common knowledge that these 'food' products got quite challenging after maturing for several days.

"About three weeks now."

That gave Ryoga a moment of pause. He had never fought any of the creatures when they were that old before. Even Happosai ordered out rather than get something out of the refrigerator when things got that bad. He figured though that he was up to the challenge. That certainly explained why Kasumi had had so many grocery bags today. Creatures that old might not be afraid of hurting her even if they faced the wrath of the entire household. That reminded him that he didn't want her to get hurt while he vanquished the delinquent food.

"Kasumi you might want to get on the other side of the room. This could get messy." He only faintly heard her move her chair as he reached for the refrigerator's handle.

--

It had been a long battle and Ryoga was tired. So tired he wasn't able to immediately push the pieces of food off of him and get up from where he had practically collapsed on the floor. Several of the side dishes had jumped him using a team-flanking maneuver early on and had caused him to lose his rhythm. That one event had turned what should have been a thirty-minute battle into one that had continued for almost a full hour. He did feel pretty good about himself though. Kasumi had been a source of encouragement throughout the entire ordeal. He still had no clue where she had gotten the enormous 'Ryoga Fan Club' flag from, but he thought that the small writing on the corner might have something to do with it. He just couldn't figure out what FHP stood for.1

He was really amazed at how blasé everyone was about the noise that must have been coming from the kitchen. Were things really so bad that no one noticed the sounds of a Chisai Shi Shi Houkodan blast hitting the fried asparagus? He thought for sure that they would have come running when he used a Bakusai Tenketsu on the meatloaf.

"Oh, thank you Ryoga!" Kasumi got down off of the metal stepladder she had climbed when the coleslaw had started to eat the chair out from under her. "That was wonderful. And you finished just in time to get the chicken out. I thought for sure that you'd never be able to get the curry out from its position in front of the oven in time.

"I thought Akane's curry was getting better?" That last part of the battle where it had started chucking rabid rice balls at him had been the worst.

"It is. In fact it tastes great. That was from several months back. I forgot it was even in there. It must have been hiding last time we cleaned the refrigerator."

Ryoga was astonished. He honestly didn't know if he would have fought if he had known that the curry was in there. He would have at least gotten his umbrella first. As it was, there were about ninety bandanas littering the floor of the kitchen. He got up, pushing fragments of fruit salad off of his body. With Kasumi's help, it was only a matter of moments to clean up the worst of the mess. He washed his hands and arms and face before doing the same again. He didn't want to take the chance of infecting any of the good food. He shivered as the water went cold a few times. Ryoga wondered idly if he had damaged the sink's gas heater when one of the custards had made a break for the drain.

Ryoga opened the stove door and pulled out the perfectly cooked chickens. He was glad that he had done the cooking before the battle because he didn't know if he had the energy. He even had to let Kasumi take the food out to the waiting stomachs. It seemed that everyone had arrived while he had been busy fighting for his life. Even Ranma who showed up late and was completely drained himself because he hadn't even shown up for school until the last period of the day. Apparently, Ms. Hinako hadn't been entirely pleased. He also seemed that he was sporting a rather nice umbrella shaped mark on his chin. Ryoga, looking through the slightly opened kitchen door, smirked. The smirk only got larger while every one stared curiously at the extra place setting Kasumi had asked Akane to put out.

The meal was already partly over when Ryoga had recovered enough strength to move his legs again. He opened the door and saw the look of relief that passed across Kasumi's face. Everyone else was so busy watching Ranma and Genma's battle over the spatzel that Ryoga had time to finish off one of the remaining chicken legs before anyone noticed he was there. Of course it was Nabiki who figured it out first.

"Why hello, Ryoga. I didn't notice you show up." He could almost see the gears turning inside of her head as she tried to figure out a way to persuade money out of him.2

"I've been here for a while. I was just a little too tired to come to dinner immediately."

Ranma intruded on the conversation. "More like it took him this long to find the dining room."

Ryoga was about to make a heated reply when Kasumi beat him to it. "For your information, Ranma, Ryoga is the one who made dinner for everyone. He's been resting in the kitchen ever since." Her tone was slightly stern, which for Kasumi was a point that was rarely if ever reached.

Soun was even more shocked than the others. "Ryoga, my boy, with such culinary skills it is a wonder that you aren't engaged to someone." An awkward silence descended across the room.

"I know Mr. Tendo. But it seems that I have already lost my heart to one of your daughters." The brief sigh of relief that had rippled throughout the room was replaced by an even louder intake of breath. "I'm afraid your daughter, Kasumi, has stolen my heart because of her bravery."

Everyone was in a state of shock that was only broken when Kasumi laughed. "You are only saying that because I hit the tempura that was sneaking up behind you with the frying pan."

"What are you talking about Kasumi?" Soun looked perplexed.

"Ryoga helped me out with something that you and Mr. Saotome have been promising to do for weeks?"

"You mean to say that he cleaned out the refrigerator?" Genma said, unable to speak without stammering. He turned to Ryoga. "I feel I've greatly underestimated you my boy."

Silence fell once again across the room only to be interrupted by Akane. "What is so hard about cleaning out the refrigerator?" she asked. For once, even Ranma seemed reluctant to mention anything about Akane's cooking.

It was particularly relieving when Nabiki changed the subject. "So Ranma why exactly were you five hours late to school today."

Ryoga sat up straighter. He really wanted to hear Ranma's version of the morning's events. He could see all sorts of possibilities with the way everyone was glaring angrily at Ranma.

"It all started when I ran into an old friend as I was running to school. He was--"

Ryoga interrupted. "What time was that?" He ignored Ranma's glare.

"About 9:00. Like I was saying he was coo--"

This time it was Akane who interrupted. "Wait a minute Ranma! If it was 9:00 then you were already late for school."

Ryoga smiled as Ranma sweat dropped. He thought everything was just starting to get fun. "Akane I think that we should let Ranma continue his story and only hit him afterwards."

"Yeah, Akane, only hit me afterwards." Ranma did a double take. "What!"

"Ranma continue the story already." Nabiki urged.

Ryoga didn't like the way Nabiki was looking at him. He thought that she must have figured it out already because she was enjoying herself much too much.

"Anyway, he was cooking some octopus puffs so I got him to give me one--"

"I find it hard to believe that someone would just give you food Ranma." Ryoga smirked.

"Okay, so he did hit me. So it was Noon and he then--"

"I thought you had said it was 9:00. What were you doing for three hours Ranma?" It was great. Ryoga hadn't even needed to ask that question because Akane had beaten him to it.

Ranma sweat dropped again. "I was kind of in a wall. So he helped me out and then asked me--"

"What do you mean you were in a wall for three hours? And you call yourself a martial artist? You have disgraced the name of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts!" Mr. Saotome was immediately interrupted by a bucket of cold water.

"Shut up Pops! He hit me when I wasn't expecting it, and I went most of the way through a nearby wall. So then he asked me for some help, and I graciously agreed when he hit me again--"

"Why did he hit you Ranma?" Even Kasumi was getting into the act now and Ryoga smiled even more.

"It might have had something to do with the fact I made him repeat his asking for help several times," he said in a really small voice.

"Ranma how could you?" she said. "Humiliating someone like that when they ask you for help! You ought to be ashamed."

"Ranma, why did him hitting you make you even later to school?" Akane seemed curious.

Ranma flushed. "Because he hit me into the next ward and I had trouble finding a train." He refused to look anyone in the eyes after saying it.

Ryoga was amazed at how well his entire plan had come together. Not only was everyone laughing at Ranma's attempts to deny he had brought everything upon himself; they also weren't accusing him of beating Ranma up. He kind of felt bad for Ranma. It really hadn't been Ranma's fault. Up to a point, that was. "I really don't think we should be so hard on Ranma. It seems it wasn't entirely his fault he was late to school."

It was slightly strange that everyone was giving him funny looks. It was as if they didn't expect such a calm forgiving attitude from him. He scratched his head. Ryoga wondered if he had some food on his face because they all kept staring at him.

Kasumi broke the silence. "Oh, I almost forgot. Ryoga is going to be staying in your room for a few days, Ranma. I know that's not going to be a problem since you are such good friends." She must have missed the tensing up of everyone in the room.

"…" Ranma opened his mouth and nothing came out. "I guess that'll be okay. I just hope he won't keep me up all night. Some of us have to go to school."

"I'll make sure you wake up in time to get to school, Ranma. After all I wouldn't want to be responsible for your being late to school two days in a row." Ryoga smiled thinking of all the fun he would have waking Ranma up in the morning.

"Ryoga does that mean that you had something to do with his being late today?" Nabiki's voice was coolly rational as if she were just mulling things over in her head out loud.

Both Ryoga and Ranma sweat dropped. It seemed that Ryoga's plan had a small hole in it after all. Ryoga didn't want to be on the receiving end of an Akane mallet attack. Luckily his possible executioner saved his life.

"Don't be silly, Nabiki," Akane said. "Ryoga clearly had nothing to do with Ranma's bad manners towards his friend today. Where do you come up with these things?"

"Ha ha ha. Where does she think of these things?" Ryoga tried to laugh more convincingly but failed. Luckily no one seemed to notice. "If I may I think I would like to get some sleep. I have had a very tough week and I feel like I haven't slept at all." Which was fairly close to the truth if you didn't count the times he had slept in that weird place.

"Oh my, of course Ryoga. I should have thought of that before I let you help me today. You go get some sleep." Kasumi was back into full mothering mode again and so Ryoga knew that any resistance on his part would be futile.

It was about three the next morning when Ryoga put his plan into action. It took several trips through the house for him to get everything he needed. The sand bags were suspended from the ceiling ready to be swung at a moments notice. The tripwires were set up all over the room at various heights and each was connected to a large mallet. Ryoga had even found a giant tanuki statue with paint on its chest that he hung from one of the rafters. (btw if anyone can remember what this refers to I'll … say they know too much about Ranma ½)

Sitting down to wait for his prey to wake up Ryoga sat down on his backpack and thought. He felt a little guilty about doing this to Ranma, and he pictured in his mind what he believed Ukyo would do in his shoes and sighed. It took him another hour to dismantle all but one of the traps. He looked over the lone sand bag and nodded. It seemed that his conscience could deal with one trap.

It was now about five in the morning and as time passed he found himself staring at that sand bag and sighing. Even that one trap was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. With yet another sigh he pulled down the sandbag. It was really no fun having to live up to someone else's standards all the time.

1 I'm sorry about this. Zooplat is forcing us to put blatant company plugs into our writings. If you think this is bad you should see Keith's poetry. Shudder! We never should have made him the CEO.

2 Read Extort


	8. Point of Return Fragment 1

Point of Return

Point of Return

Part from somewhere in the story

--

"Please hold on Ukyo. Don't let go! I won't let you die again, Ukyo! Ukyo!"

Ryoga woke up when he felt someone shaking him by his shoulders. Once he had recovered enough to be aware of his surroundings, he knew immediately that it had been a mistake to accept Ukyo's offer of a place to stay the night. Not that he had had much of a choice. But he did admit, if only to himself, that it was extremely reassuring to see her.

"Ryoga, are you okay?"

He briefly thought about lying and saying that he was fine, but he doubted that she would believe it. Still he couldn't admit what was truly the problem or she would think he was insane. Or even worse she might believe him. It seemed though that she had a different idea.

"Ryoga, why did you call out my name?" She sat down on the bed and Ryoga wondered why she was twisting her hands together in her lap.

For the first time, Ryoga noticed what Ukyo was wearing. It was a very nice silk yukata that she had obviously grabbed after hearing him shout out, for her hair was still mussed from sleep. Ryoga appreciated the fact that she was facing away from him as he subtly pinched his nose together. He had forgotten that she only seemed masculine when she was wearing her school uniform, at all other times everyone realized she was a woman. It took a quick reshuffling of his thoughts to get back to a reasonable state of awareness. "What?"

"Why were you screaming my name? Why did you thing I was going to die?" She turned towards him and he dropped his hand from his face quickly. "What is going on with you, Ryoga? You've changed. You can talk intelligently to Akane and I could have sworn that you were actually getting along with Ranchan the other day." She paused for a second. "And that too!" her voice was rising higher as she was getting into her ranting. "Why do you always grimace whenever I talk about Ranchan?" She stood up and started pacing in front of the door. Every time she ended a sentence she would turn and glare at him. "It all started after you came back from your last trip. Another thing is that you have been around a lot lately, and whenever someone mentions it you get lost for a day and then come right back. Then there is your attitude towards me. At first you refused to even look me in the eye and when you did I thought you almost looked guilty as if…" she trailed off.

Ryoga felt cold and knew that his face had to be white. Ukyo was staring at him and he felt as if she could look into his soul and see what he had done. He had completely forgotten that Ukyo was one of the most logical people in Nerima, and if anyone could figure it out she would. It was all he could do to keep himself from throwing himself at her feet and begging for her forgiveness.

"Never mind, I guess it isn't important."

She blushed and quickly turned around, but Ryoga had seen it. Things were starting to become clear to him. It seemed that Akane and Ranma had mentioned to Ukyo their idea that he was in love with Ukyo.

"Good night, Ryoga." She left without giving him a chance to speak.

"Good night, Ukyo." He spoke to the closed door, and wondered what he was going to do about the situation he was finding himself in. He thought about it for and hour, but Ryoga fell asleep coming no closer to finding an answer.

--

As he should have expected Ryoga had the dream a second time that night. But just like every other time there were minute differences. Both of that night's dreams had held to common theme though. In those dreams he had known that they had been just that, but knowing hadn't seemed to affect anything that happened the first time in any way.

Ryoga was fully prepared to let the second dream run its usual course when he noticed that there had been a shift in the dream's location. Ukyo had just walked to the edge of the cliff when all of a sudden they were both looking down at the streets of Nerima from her room. She fell and grabbed the edge trying to hold on until Ryoga could reach her. But this time he noticed her fingers. Instead of slipping from their hold on the edge like what had happened the first time it appeared that they were being pried off one by one by some unseen hand. Again he got to the edge with just enough time to look into her eyes as she fell to the ground before.

He lashed out anyway at the spot where her hand had been not a second before, and he was startled when he encountered an ethereal object. He looked at his enclosing fist and vaguely saw the outline of a spirit before he felt it fade away.

Ryoga shot up in bed, and for once he wasn't really surprised that he had woken up without screaming. He dressed quickly in one of his many sets of clothes and made his way to down the attic stairs to Ukyo's room. He pushed open the door and looked in.

Having no clue what the room should look like, Ryoga couldn't help but think that something was wrong even though he couldn't figure out what it was. Most everything seemed like any normal bedroom with several possible exceptions. The floor to ceiling picture of Ranma was scary. There was also a small-framed picture of a pig with a spatula standing over a defeated cat. (A reference to another Fanfic NOT by me.) Ukyo was floating a few inches over her bed. The enormous supply of battle spatulas couldn't be normal. Ryoga couldn't think of a reason for any normal person to keep that many different okanomiyaki ingredients in their room either. Other than those things the room was much like Akane's. Besides Akane kept her floor to ceiling picture of Ranma in the closet.

Something kept drawing his attention to Ukyo herself though. She did look extremely peaceful as she drifted above her futon. He realized that she wouldn't be very pleased with him if she found him in there watching her. Ryoga remembered that Ukyo valued her privacy almost as much as Genma valued continuing the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. He was getting ready to leave when the normally quiet part of his brain that noticed his surroundings kicked him in the head. A floating Ukyo wasn't normal.

It made so much sense to Ryoga now. Not really, but it made more sense than it did a minute previous. He walked over to her and passed his hands above her body to see if there were any wires. When he got to a certain point his hand met resistance but not matter. Instead he felt it go numb, and Ukyo was slowly lowered to the futon. A misty body started to coalesce from the spot.

"What do you want here?" it asked its voice a sibilant hiss. "Leave me to my feast and be gone." It turned its head back towards Ukyo and she started to rise again.

Ryoga reached out to intruder and grasped at it grimacing as his hand passed through it completely this time. He pulled back and reached out again with similar results. Recalling what he had heard about such spirits he charged up his hands with chi and grasped at the creature. To the surprise of both he encountered what could almost be called flesh and dragged it from the room.

Pushing the creature up against and partially through the hallway wall, Ryoga didn't need to put much effort into maintaining enough anger to keep his chi accessible. "I want some answers, and I want them now. Who are you, and what were you doing to Ukyo?"

The creature sneered in the same hissing voice it had used before. "Leave me alone or your pretty friend will pay the price." It reached up with its hand and made a slight grasping motion. From Ukyo's room a sharp scream of agony rang through the shop.

If Ryoga had been angry before he was now fully enraged. "What did you do to her?!"


	9. Point of Return Fragment 2

Point of Return

Point of Return

Part from somewhere in the story

--

As Ryoga knew it would, a letter arrived one day at the Tendo Dojo. He didn't understand why Cologne had allowed Shampoo to write the invitation to Mousse's birthday party. It was clear that her grasp of Japanese wasn't the greatest from the way that she spoke. Still it did make interesting reading.

_**Be at Cat Café noon Saturday.**_

_**Very bad if not show up.**_

_**Refreshments present.**_

Bring—

The rest of the message was blurred, the reason for which might have had something to do with the inked cat prints and the extensive water damage.

Akane, Ranma, and Ukyo were staring at Ryoga like he was insane. He hadn't really caught the refreshments line the previous time and now he could only laugh at the utter ridiculousness of the situation to come.

"Ryoga, a challenge isn't a laughing matter," said Ranma. "It is our way of defending the honor of our schools of martial arts in battle."

Ryoga couldn't help but laugh harder at the serious expression on Ranma's face. "Oh, you're right, Ranma," he said. "A challenge is extremely serious…" That was as long as Ryoga could keep his face straight. He looked at everyone and saw that they were getting angry, so he tried to control himself. But it was hard, very hard.

When Ranma started to discuss strategy with the two girls, Ryoga saw the perfect opportunity to get some things done that he had been putting off. It had been very taxing for him to be near to Ukyo every moment she was alone. Ryoga still didn't thing that Zaure would keep his word about leaving her alone. She should be safe while at the Tendo's though. He stood up to leave.

"Where are you going, Ryoga?" Ukyo asked. "Aren't you going to stay and help out?" If this request had come from Akane several months ago would have been impossible to refuse. As it was, the fact Ukyo was almost as bad.

Ryoga knew that he had to do something about the vampire problem, and he wouldn't be able to that if he were always with her. Besides his recent weakness promised to make completing his tasks quickly all but impossible. He was incredible tired; his need to sleep several more hours each day was conflicting with the need to watch over Ukyo while she slept. It was ironic that he already had a readymade excuse.

"I'm sorry, Ukyo. But I have some things to do so I had better hear out now if I want to get to the Cat Café on Saturday." He didn't feel it would be important or wise to mention that he would be watching her throughout the night. He saw Ranma's thoughtful look. Ryoga mentally hit himself. If Ranma was getting suspicious it was almost guaranteed that others were. He was about to leave when a voice stopped him.

"That's easy to fix, Ryoga," Akane said. "You can plan with us for a while and then we'll all take you around. That way everything will get done in a fraction of the time."

Ryoga sweat dropped. He hadn't anticipated Akane's idea. Ranma must have seen his look of abject terror because he cut in really quickly.

"What if I don't want to go? I say we let P-chan take care of himself for a while. He'll manage to get back in time for the fight." Everyone winced as the impact of Akane Unit 01 sent Ranma through the tatami mat.

Even though he was really grateful for Ranma's help he could almost see the wheels turning inside Ranma's head. Ranma was surely thinking that it was strange for him to decline a chance to be with both Akane and Ukyo.

"Come on, Ryoga. I'll show you the way to the street." Internal warning bells were ringing throughout Ryoga's mind. Ranma was actually being nice to him! Something was going on. His suspicions were confirmed when the two boys got outside the dojo. "What's going on, Ryoga? You're acting real strange."

Ryoga really wanted to tell Ranma about Zaure, but he knew that Ranma would overreact and do something that might tip the vampire off to Ryoga's plans. Whatever happened he couldn't let Zaure act while he still had some power to hurt Ukyo. "Ranma, I really want to tell you, but I can't. Just watch out for everyone while I'm gone. Especially Akane and Ukyo." He had a sudden thought. "In fact, maybe you could manage to extend this planning session of yours until it gets dark out and then you could head to Ucchan's for dinner." That way Ukyo wouldn't be alone during the day, and he would have enough time to get there before she did. "Can you do that for me, Ranma?"

"I guess I can, but only if you promise to show up for the challenge. I'd look like an idiot if you didn't show."

Ryoga grinned over his shoulder as he walked down the street. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

The sun was about to go down and Ryoga was little closer to finding a way to get rid of his vampire problem. The most he had found out about his problem had come from some junior high kids who had been thought him a spirit when they somehow detected traces of Zaure's touch on him using a wristwatch. They hadn't been able to help him since they specialized with ghosts and demons, but they had suggested that he start looking for a technique that didn't use chi if the creature fed upon it. Unfortunately he had been unable to do anything with this new idea because he had needed to get back to Nerima.

He, however, had found time to pick up his photos from the camera shop and they were even better than he had hoped for. Mousse was sure to love it, as would anyone else who had ever fought Ranma. He still needed to pick up Ukyo and Akane's gifts, but everything else was almost ready for the party. Now all he wanted to go into his attic room and take a quick nap. Never before had walking around for half a day exhausted him.

Ryoga was one building away from Ucchan's when he felt it. Ukyo hadn't been trained enough with chi usage to detect the bond linking her with Zaure, but Ryoga was something of a chi expert and Zaure's stench was easily sensed when Ryoga was within twenty feet of the creature. This time it was particularly strong, indicating that Zaure had manifested physically.

As Ryoga had suspected, Zaure was inside Ucchan's sitting at the counter. It amazed Ryoga though that Ranma and Akane were still there as well. Ranma kept looking around as if something were bothering him, while Akane and Ukyo just stared at Ranma unable to figure out what was wrong. With new strength flowing through his hands Ryoga snuck up behind Zaure and had him gripped by the shoulders before anyone realized he was there.

"Zaure! You had better have a good reason for being here, and if you don't tell me what it is in the next few seconds I'll have to hurt you." Zaure's normally pale face was quickly bleached of all color. Ryoga knew that he couldn't hurt Zaure too badly before he could kill Ukyo, but Zaure didn't know that. He didn't even flinch as he felt something smack into the back of his head. "I'm going to let you pay for your food and go this time, but if I told you what I would do if you ever came this close to Ukyo again." Again something hit him, but Ryoga shrugged it off concentrating on the creature in front of him. "The only reason I'm not going to kill you now is that some of these people would object to seeing your spine splatter across the wall." For effect Ryoga bared his own fangs to the vampire.

"You won't be able to stop me for long. I'll remember this. You can rest assured that I will remember this." Zaure knocked Ryoga's hands away and put some money down on the counter before walking out.

"Well that takes care of--." Ryoga's comment was cut off by the amazing speed and force of Ukyo's battle spatulas.

"You jackass! How dare you threaten my customers! I swear if you ever do that again I'll kill you!" Ukyo punctuated her comments with vigorous application of multiple battle spatulas, each one getting bent out of shape when it came into contact with his head. The abuse only paused long enough for Ukyo to force Ryoga to unbend her spatulas, after which she started re-bending them against his skull.

Ryoga tried to explain what he had done between blows to the head. He almost managed it, too. "Ukyo can you give me a minute to explain? I was just--" There Ryoga's explanation cut off, his exhaustion finally causing him to collapse at Ukyo's feet. The last thing that he heard was Ukyo yelling at Ranma to get Dr. Tofu.

When Ryoga came to he had no clue where he was which, considering that he had recently gotten over his directional problem, really scared him. Looking around it didn't take him that long to figure out where he was. He had seen the inside of the room fairly regularly for the last half month so it should be familiar, but he was kind of surprised to be lying in Ukyo's bed.

Looking up he saw that Ukyo was asleep sitting in his usual spot by the window. He supposed he should have guessed that, because it was the most comfortable place in the room that still had a view of the bed. Part of Ryoga's mind was a little disappointed that she wasn't sitting on the bed with him, though. The rest of his mind immediately and thoroughly squashed that thought flat.

Ryoga looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time for the bastard's visit. He pushed himself up in the bed, and realizing that he was dressed only in shorts grabbed some clothes. Ryoga walked quietly over to the overstuffed chair and flipped a blanket over Ukyo's sleeping form. He silently left the room and walked up to his attic room. It took longer than normal to slide the boards aside and squeeze through the opening. Out of breath he sat down with his feet overhanging the edge of the building. Hopefully, he thought looking at his watch again, Zaure would show up on time and not before, because he knew it would take almost the entire fifteen minutes until the meeting time to recover his strength. His hopes rose with every minute's passage, and he was fully charged when Zaure showed up precisely at 1:00.

"I see you have showed up once again, Hibiki. You must know you will be punished for laying hands upon me earlier today. Was it worth it?"

The horrible stench was only intensified when Zaure was in phantasmal form, and it made Ryoga want to gag. "Get on with it," he said through gritted teeth.

"Very well." Zaure assumed his floating lotus position and Ryoga immediately felt weaker than he had when he had woken up. Neither of the two moved during the ten minutes, and afterwards Ryoga collapsed to the ground. "That was quite energizing," Zaure said, his perpetual smile growing even larger. "I must say that I'm benefiting from these regular meals."

Ryoga tuned out the creature. He always gloated while Ryoga recovered enough energy to stand up. "Get out of here, Zaure. And remember that I don't want to see your ugly face for another two days."

"We'll have to see about that. I might get hungry before that, and who knows when I might see Ukyo."

That was enough to get Ryoga and on his feet instantly. "If you touch her I'll kill you! I don't know how, but I'd find a way to rip your heart out and feed it to Kodachi's pet while it's still beating."

"It seems I've overstayed my welcome again. Oh dear. Remember Hibiki, the same time in two nights. Show up or you won't like the consequences." With that Zaure stepped off the roof and hopped from rooftop to rooftop at a speed Ranma would have envied.

Zaure seemed completely indifferent to Ryoga's use of a gesture he learned in New York City. Finally Ryoga's legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to the ground for the third time that day, this time putting his face in his hands and crying. He only stopped when he heard a small scuffling sound come from the room behind him.

"Damn it to hell, Ryoga!" Dr. Tofu shouted. "What are you trying to do? I should have guessed what was happening when you came to see me with Ukyo two weeks ago." Now that Ryoga had recovered from his shock at seeing the doctor on the roof with him, he realized that the doctor was more upset with himself than with him. "Do you know how worried everyone had been about you lately? No less than four people have come to my office within the past few days to tell me about their suspicions. Luckily for you none of them realized everything. Akane is worried that you aren't getting enough sleep at night because you always seem tired, Ranma is wondering why you haven't been hitting him as hard as you normally do, and Ukyo and Kasumi both think it is strange that you aren't eating as much as you used to." He shook his head. "Everyone got really scared when you collapsed inside earlier. That's when I figured it out. Ukyo seemed so energetic and bubbly that she was almost a completely different person from the girl you brought in two weeks ago." He pointed to the part of the city Zaure had gone towards. "Tell me about Zaure, Ryoga Hibiki."

At first Ryoga didn't want to say anything at all, but the doctor's concern was so evident that Ryoga finally gave in. Not only did Ryoga mention what had happened in the past few weeks, he also told Tofu about everything that had happened. He told him about what he had done in the future and about everything he had done to fix it. By the end of his story, Ryoga was sobbing loudly and there were tears in Dr. Tofu's eyes.

Dr. Tofu walked over to him and patted him on the back. "I'm sorry, Ryoga. I had no idea that you'd been through all that. I'd like to say that I understand what you are going through, but I don't. I don't think anyone does. But I don't think any less of you for admitting you made a mistake and trying to fix it. Your mistake might have been worse than some, but I think you are doing more than enough to atone."

Ryoga looked up at Dr. Tofu and saw that he wasn't just telling him what he wanted to hear. But his next words shocked Ryoga to the core.

"It seems that you might even get something good from the experience. I've never seen someone as in love with someone as you are in Ukyo." He cut Ryoga off as he tried to interrupt. "I realize that that wasn't your intention, but it seems you don't realize your own feelings yet. Think about it a bit before you turn your back on it completely." Dr. Tofu turned to go.

"Wait a minute doctor. How did you know I would be up her tonight?"

To Ryoga's amusement the doctor blushed. "I didn't. I saw Ka--someone on my way home and the next thing that I knew I was sitting against the shutters next door."

Ryoga got a sudden urge to help Dr. Tofu out. "Doctor, you know you're going to have to get over that eventually, right? Kasumi cares for you a great deal, but she won't be the one to make the first move." He waited for the doctor's terrified nod before continuing. "You should just go over there and ask her out on a date. I know Mr. Tendo wouldn't mind."

"I'll, I'll think about it Ryoga. I just wouldn't know what to say to her. What would I talk about?"

"Well you could start by calling and asking her if she might be interested in reading any of your biology textbooks. Then you could ask her out when you drop them off."

"I'll think about it Ryoga. It's strange I try to help you and I feel that you've done more for me than I have for you."

"No, Doctor, you've helped me out a lot." Ryoga grabbed the edge of the wall and slid back through the window.

It took him a few minutes to get back into Ukyo's bedroom. As was his habit he went straight to the overstuffed chair by the window before he remembered that Ukyo was sleeping in it. Looking down at her face he couldn't help if Dr. Tofu was right. Was he falling in love with Ukyo? He couldn't tell. He didn't think about her in the same way as he had Akane. Akari's face was suddenly hard to remember. Ukyo was … Ukyo. He had come back to prevent her from getting killed, and he wondered if what he was feeling was love or lingering feelings of guilt.

He had a brief thought about videotaping the entire party, but he shrugged it off. Besides Nabiki would probably do if for him with her new digital camera, the one she had bought with the money she had extorted out of him. It had saved him a lot of time by just asking her to fill in his map of Nerima for him.


End file.
